Chapter 174: No Heartache Spending What Was Found
The moment the words were spoken, nearly every eye in the room focused on Moira Lynch.
Immediately after, the person who had previously bid eighty million called out again, "One hundred million!"
Moira Lynch immediately countered, "One hundred ten million."
’Since I’ve decided to win this Calming Bell, there’s no way I’m giving up so easily. Besides, it’s not like I’m short on money right now.’
"One hundred twenty million!"
"One hundred thirty million!"
"One hundred forty million!"
"One hundred fifty million!"
...
After that, the auction became a two-woman show, a stage for Moira Lynch and the other bidder.
On the stage, Tyrell was all smiles, while the crowd stared, dumbfounded, at the scene unfolding.
The main reason was that the person competing with Moira Lynch didn’t look very old either.
’Seriously, are kids these days all this rich?’
After about five minutes, Moira Lynch finally won the Calming Bell for a price of two hundred eighty million.
The moment the sale was confirmed, Moira Lynch breathed a sigh of relief. ’I finally got it.’
Just then, she suddenly felt a gaze land on her.
She looked up and saw a young blonde woman staring at her provocatively, the schadenfreude in her eyes barely concealed.
At the sight, Moira Lynch blinked in confusion. ’Why is she so happy about losing the bid?’
A moment later, she belatedly realized the other bidder must have been deliberately driving up the price.
’But so what?’
’I prepared two billion for this auction.’
’The money came from selling Yeti Horns, which I just happened to find. So, by that logic, this two billion was basically free money.’
’And it doesn’t hurt one bit to spend free money.’
Seeing that her provocation didn’t have the desired effect, the young woman snorted in frustration.
Since the auction was still ongoing, the Calming Bell wasn’t delivered to Moira Lynch immediately. All her winnings would be delivered in a single batch after the event concluded.
As time went on, the bidding for the subsequent lots was, unsurprisingly, exceptionally fierce.
However, aside from the Calming Bell, none of the following items caught Moira Lynch’s interest.
Her lack of participation, however, led others to mistakenly believe she had run out of money.
"Our next lot is another Artifice Beast."
The words had barely been spoken when the room erupted. First the Calming Bell, and now another Artifice Beast? It was normally difficult to see even one, but two had appeared in a single auction. Had this year’s Navi Auction stumbled upon an Artifice Beast nest?
Lily cleared her throat and said, "Unlike the Calming Bell, this is an Acquired Gear-Beast."
At this, the buzzing crowd instantly calmed down.
Artifice Beasts are divided into two types: Innate and Acquired.
Innate Clockwork Beasts, like Moon Wheel, hatch from an egg and imprint on the first person they see as their master. In contrast, Acquired Gear-Beasts are inferior to Innate Clockwork Beasts in every respect.
Seeing the crowd’s reaction, the smile on Lily’s face remained unchanged as she continued, "This Acquired Gear-Beast was born from a Healing Device developed by Master White, and it incorporates his life’s work."
"This Acquired Gear-Beast can not only perform emergency medical treatment but also monitor its master’s physical condition in real-time. Based on this data, it can offer sound advice and determine the best course of action."
’It sounds like a personal physician you can carry around.’
Just moments ago, the crowd had been utterly uninterested in this Acquired Gear-Beast, but the moment they heard Master White’s name, it was as if they’d been given a shot of adrenaline.
"Patience, look up Master White."
[Master White: The most distinguished scientist, inventor, botanist, and physician in the galaxy. The Healing Devices he personally invented are widely popular and have saved countless lives.
Three months ago, Master White announced his retirement and vanished without a trace.]
Moira Lynch’s eyes fell on the distinctly mechanical-looking sphere on the auction stage.
Seeing that the anticipation in the room had been built up sufficiently, Lily announced to the crowd, "The starting bid for this Acquired Gear-Beast is five million!"
The words were barely out of her mouth when, in the next second, Moira Lynch shot her paddle up. "Ten million!"
The crowd stared at Moira Lynch, completely aghast.
’Wait a minute, didn’t she run out of money? She doubled the price on the very first bid! This isn’t a Calming Bell; it’s just an Acquired Gear-Beast!’
Across the galaxy, Innate Clockwork Beasts are extremely rare, but Acquired Gear-Beasts are quite numerous.
In truth, Acquired Gear-Beasts were officially recognized as Artifice Beasts.
Normally, without Master White’s name attached to it, an Acquired Gear-Beast like the one on stage would fetch a few million at most.
But this young woman, with her very first bid, had already pushed the price to its absolute limit.
’Now they were in a bind. They were reluctant to bid higher—what if Moira Lynch suddenly stopped, leaving them stuck with it? But not bidding at all felt wrong, like it would be a show of disrespect to Master White.’
After a moment’s wait, still no one raised a paddle.
’No way. Is nobody going to compete with me?’
Just then, Moira Lynch had a sudden thought. ’Don’t tell me it’s because I set the price too high...’
’Oh, crap. Did I just get a bad deal?’
In the end, Moira Lynch once again won the lot, securing the Acquired Gear-Beast for the high price of ten million.
People started to notice a pattern. Both of Moira Lynch’s purchases so far had been Artifice Beasts. ’Could it be that this young woman has a particular fondness for them?’
But soon enough, Moira Lynch would prove them all wrong.
She began bidding on several lots in a row, adopting a strategy of instantly outbidding anyone, no matter their offer.
[Name: Priest’s Staff
Ability: Enhancement. Can cast healing, blessing, and other skills on multiple and long-distance targets.
Requirement: Can only be used by individuals with a Healing System ability.]
[Name: Hundred Herbs Map
Ability: Causes plants in the surrounding area to grow rapidly and continuously cultivates medicinal herbs with special properties.]
[Name: Golden Dragon Horn
Ability: After equipping, the user can possess the abilities of a dragon for a short period.
Cooldown: Thirty days.]
Moira Lynch sat in her seat with her arms crossed, her expression nonchalant, exuding an invisible aura of dominance.
Especially when she raised her paddle, she gave off an air that said, "No matter what you bid, this is mine."
This calm and supremely confident posture alone was enough to intimidate many potential bidders.
Moira Lynch: ’Like I said, it doesn’t hurt one bit to spend free money.’
...
Soon, the auction entered its final phase.
This time, a massive, blue-and-green planet appeared behind the auctioneer, Lily.
"This is a newly discovered Veridia, located in the Rosette Galaxy."
At that moment, Moira Lynch could clearly feel the atmosphere in the room grow tense—far more so than for any of the previous lots.